Hopps vs Scarlet
by PeacefulWarrior82
Summary: Judy had been there for her since day one. But when an elderly fox couple comes from seemingly nowhere to claim their biological right to Nick's daughter, what will she do and who will the city of Zootopia side within what will no doubt be the trial of the decade? Warning: Character deaths.
1. Chapter 1 Prologue

A story I decided to do. Characters are owned by Disney

0000000000000000000000000

One year has passed since the incarceraton of former assistant Mayor Belleweather.

Officer Judith Hopps along with her partner Nick Wilde were driving down Zootopia

avenue surveying the area.

" So where do you want to go?" Judy asked.

"I was thinking the bodega" Nick responded.

"The bodega…."

" Yes…"

"Again…"

"Yes…"

" Wouldn't have anything to do with the barista would it?" she teased.

" Which barista?" Nick asked innocently.

" Never mind…"

-Later-

Judy's face is seen on the screen of her phone bulging her eyes and her mouth tiny as she laughed.

" At least I'll know what to do when you're bored." Nick said.

" C'mon, it's not my fault I'm easily entertained." Judy said as the wolves behind

her got up from their table by theirs.

" Hey guys! Welcome back!" Said a voice from beside them. The barista set down some menus and silverware on their table. Nick and Judy looked up at a female fox smiling . Her name tag said Krysta.

Nick began to blush ever so slightly.

" Rough day so far?' Krysta asked.

" Nothing we couldn't handle." Judy said. " In fact Nick stopped a mugger today."

" w-well yea, but I mean it wasn't difficult." Nick looked over at Judy.

" Oh my god, he didn't have a gun did he?" Krysta said, kind of freaked out.

" Oh uh no he didn't. Yeah he wasn't difficult." Nick said.

" He's modest. The guy was like twice his size."

Nick looked over at Judy completely baffled.

" Wow, I can't believe it. You guys have the hardest job in the city." Krysta said. "

Well I'll be right back, what would you guys like to drink?"

" I'll just have carrot and kale juice." Judy said.

" I'll uh just have coffee." Nick said.

" You got it, I'll be right back." Krysta walked away.

" Nick looked to Judy "Twice my size? Carrots, he was a possum."

Judy smiled, it wasn't often Nick wasn't his calm witty self. She knew the reason was

the barista. " I'm trying to build you up here. Hey you know what would be great? If

you just ask her out and maybe you guys hit it off so we don't have to go 10 miles for our lunch break anymore."

" Look, I'm just playing it cool right now." Nick said.

" Yea, that's totally the vibe I'm getting." Judy quipped.

" Hey she's nice, but I'm not like that into her." Nick said.

" Oh of course not." Judy said.

" Ok guys here you go." Krysta said.

" Nick you had coffee and Jude you had the carrot and Kale juice."

" Krysta…." Said a leopard from 10 feet away. " a word…"

" Oh sure, I'll be right back guys." Krysta said as she walked away.

" Sure…." Nick said.

Nick and Judy observed the body language of the leopard, he seemed to be the

owner, next to him was a young female leopard waitress.

" Krysta, Gwen says she saw you swipe her tip off of table 4."

Krysta's eyes widened. Both Nick and Judy's ears perked up.

" I'm sorry, no I didn't. I've never stolen anything in my life" Krysta said.

" Like we're supposed to believe that. " Gwen said.

" Gwen, pipe down." The boss said. " Krysta, listen just give her the money and I'll overlook this."

Judy looked behind her to see the table beside them was marked 4. She then began frantically looking through her phone. Nick didn't notice, he scowled in the direction of Krysta's boss. This treatment was all too familiar to him, he knew right away where this was headed.

" You know, I took a gamble hiring a fox. The customers may like you but I can't let this slide. Either you give her the money or you're fired."

Krysta looked up at her boss, she knew he'd do it and it was her word against theirs and sadly, being a fox she knew what that meant.

" Uh, excuse me…" Nick walked up beside Krysta, she saw Judy was on her other side.

" We couldn't help but overhear. I assume that's table 4?" Nick said pointing to the table near theirs.

" Yea, what of it?" Said the owner.

" And the customers were the wolves just there, the ones whose tip you said Krysta swiped?" Nick said. " Well sorry, but I think they didn't leave a tip."

" Wow, what a surprise. A fox defending another fox." Gwen said.

" Gwen, shut it." The owner demanded.

Nick looked to Judy. " I mean…you CAN see I'm a cop right? Am I covering up the badge?" Nick fiddled with the badge to make sure it was visible.

" Guys please it's ok." Krysta said.

" Actually…" Judy said as she held up her phone. " I just so happened to be recording behind us."

Upon inspection of the video through filters, they watched as Judy vomited up a rainbow.

" Uh, just ignore that." Judy said embarrassed.

They then witnessed Judy with alien-like eyes and green fur.

" ignore that too…." She said , becoming increasingly embarrassed.

" Carrots I really hope there's a payoff here." Nick said.

" Ahh here we go!" Judy said.

As the video played, the wolf customers were seen in the background getting up.

" You gonna leave a tip?" One wolf said.

" You kidding? That waitress was rotten to us the whole time." The other wolf said as they walked away.

"Hey guys! Welcome back!" Krysta said.

" Yea…" Judy stopped the video. " That's when Krysta came up to us, she didn't even approach table 4."

Gwen watched dumbfounded.

" sssooo…, but Krysta is completely innocent. Sorry hun, you got stiffed." Judy said.

Gwen was completely upset.

" Well I guess that settles that." The owner said. " Alright, Gwen and Krysta get back to work."

Krysta took a deep sigh of relief.

" Uhh hey, aren't you forgetting something?" Nick said.

The owner looked back while Krysta was confused.

" Maybe she's owed an apology." Judy said.

Shocked and not wanting to cause anymore tension. Krysta intervened " No guys please don't worry, lets just forget about it."

Later, Judy and Nick were getting back into their cruiser.

" Hey hold on!" Krista said coming up to the car. " I um, I don't know what to say. Nobody has ever really stood up for me before."

" Oh well being a fox I couldn't begin to understand what that's like." Nick joked causing Krysta to snicker.

" Umm…Nick…" Krysta began. " I-I don't want to seem weird but….do you think , I don't know, maybe sometime if you're not busy maybe we can go to a movie or something. If you want." Krysta blushed.

Nick blushed somewhat nervously. " I mean…yea, yea I would like that."

" So…should I give you my number ?" She asked.

" Uhh yea sure! Jude you got paper?"

" Literally on your belt." Judy said kind of enjoying the show she was seeing between the 2 foxes try to be cordial.

" Oh right, uh a pen?" Nick asked.

" Literally on the notepad." Judy chuckled.

Later…

" Finally!" Judy said excitedly. " I thought I was going to have to do it for you!" She seemed to be quite jazzed

" Don't get so excited." Nick said " We might go on one or two dates and we'll see what happens."

0000000000000000000000000000000000

More to come...


	2. Chapter 2 Prologue

A story I decided to do. Characters are owned by Disney

0000000000000000000000000000000

-2 years after the meeting-

" Alright, then it's final. Her name will officially be Annabelle Elizabeth Wilde" Nick proudly proclaimed as he put his hand on Krysta's belly.

(gasp) " Oh my God!" Judy squealed.

" Oh my God!" Krysta squealed in return. She and Judy were obsessed with finding her daughter a good name, they had been talking about it for weeks. They were so overjoyed when they made it final.

" Thanks so much Judy, I'll see you tomorrow." Nick hugged Judy.

" Alright see you tomorrow Nick." Judy said.

" Bye Jude!" Krysta and Judy hugged tightly. " Thanks for your help!"

" Are you kidding ? Of course! We picked the perfect name!"

" No, just seriously Judy, where would we be without you?"

Judy looked down at Krysta's belly and placed her hands around it. " Bye bye Annie! Aunty Jude will see you tomorrow." She looked up at her parents. " You know I'm going to spoil her rotten right?"

" Oh I always felt you'd be the help her with her homework type of Aunt." Nick said.

" That too." Judy smiled.

-weeks later-

Nick and Judy were patrol observing the area.

" I'm not gonna lie, I'm alittle nervous." Nick said.

"Nervous?"

" Well more like a little terrified."

Judy looked to him.

" Just worried I'm going to make the wrong moves. Like teach her to be the way I used to be. I think my Dad did that to me without even realizing it."

" Nick…" Judy began. " Maybe you won't be perfect, but I think you'll make a wonderful father. Besides….Krysta will be there to counteract the dumb."

" Ahh, well I feel so much better now Judy, you should be a motivational speaker."

Judy chuckled. "I'll be there too Ni-"

Suddenly, Nick's phone begins ringing.

" Hello?"

a moment of silence passed.

" This is him…"

-Later-

Nick and Judy were rushing through the hallway of the hospital and up to the front counter to speak with someone. That was when the doctor came out. Nick and Judy followed the doctor into his office.

" I'm terribly sorry Officer Wilde. Your wife was in a car accident and we did all we could but we were unable to save her."

Nick stood there motionless trying to comprehend what he was told. Judy was in absolute agony, she had lost someone she had come to think of as a sister. She looked to Nick and grasped his hand.

" We were however able to save the baby. She's under observation as we speak."

Later Nick and Judy were in an observation room. They approached an incubator

As they looked in they beheld a tiny fox with her eyes closed. She seemed to be breathing independently. Tears streamed down Nick's face as he placed his hand on the incubator, in spite of his wife having just been taken from him, Nick was overjoyed and managed to bring a smile to his face. Judy watched adoringly as the baby yawned. Her big green eyes met Judy's and a smile came onto her face. At that moment Judy absolutely fell in love as her eyes beamed and she placed her hand over her heart. She looked up at Nick, He had a long struggle ahead of him, but she was going to make sure she was there to help every step of the way.

Time passed and Judy was at Nick's house every day to help with taking care of the baby. She could see that despite Nick's efforts to keep himself composed, he was still trying to cope with the loss of Krysta.

One day Judy was cradling Annabelle. When she suddenly heard a crash coming from the kitchen

" Nick?" Judy called out. " Ok, sweetie I gotta set you down for a minute so I can go check on your daddy, ok?" Judy placed the baby back in her crib.

" Nick are you ok?" Judy walked into the kitchen to see . Nick was standing with his hands on the countertop.

" What's wrong" Judy asked. She then noticed food was thrown about out of the cupboard.

" I'm forgot I was out of baby formula….." Nick said.

" Ok…." Judy could see how exhausted Nick was. " I'll just go get some more."

Nick pulled out a chair and sat down. Tears began flowing down his face as he buried it in his hands. " How could I forget that!?" as he began to break down.

Judy's ears sunk down looking at Nick. She walked over and put her arms around him.

" It's ok Nick…." Judy rubbed his back. " It's ok…"

00000000000000000000

More to come…


	3. Chapter 3

A story I decided to do. All characters are owned by Disney

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

**4 years after the accident…..**

Stu Hopps was picking berries out in the field when he heard a rustling around him. His ear perked up to the noise. He smiled as he continued working.

" I sure hope there's no jitterbugs trying to sneak up on me…" Stu said happily.

Just then a red blur ran past him. However Stu was quick enough to catch it.

" Gotcha!" Stu laughed as he was holding a toddler fox as she burst out laughing. " Thought you could get one over on old Pops huh?"

" Dad, We're back!" Judy said as she and Nick were walking up, both still in uniform.

" Hi aunt Jude!" Annie yelled as she ran up into her arms.

" What am I chopped liver?" Nick complained.

" Hi Daddy!" Annie reached out to hug him.

" Hi sweety." Nick hugged and kissed his daughter on the head. " Were you good?"

" Uh-huh!" Annie smiled up at Nick with the same big green eyes she inherited from him.

" Not too much trouble was she?" Judy asked.

" Her? Never."

Bonnie came out carrying a bag of seed.

" Oh let me get that Bonnie…" Nick said taking the large bag off her hands.

" Thanks Nick, You guys just get off duty?" Bonnie asked.

" Yeah, can't wait to just relax, with a good movie."

Later Nick and Judy are fastening Annie into her car seat before they drive off.

" Bye guys, thanks again!" Judy waved to her parents as Annie waved somewhat enthusiastically while they drove off.

" So thanks for not telling my parents about my date." Judy said.

" Oh I did…" Nick said.

" Shut up no you didn't."

" Yes, and your mother is working on your wedding dress as we speak." Nick said.

" You know, I will taze you in front your daughter." Judy said.

" She'll be a credible witness. A jury will get one look at her and believe anything she says, she's that cute."

" Well, there's definitely no denying that."

" Aunt Jude can we listen to music?" Annie asked.

" Sure thing sweety."

Nick turned on the radio

" Oh man, I love .38 Special." Nick said.

" I like this Daddy!" Annie said joyfully.

**-Later-**

Judy looked in the mirror as she applied lipstick, she checked her red dress hoping it didn't look too gawdy.

" You look really pretty Aunt Jude!" Annie said sitting on the rocking chair in the room.

" Thank you hon."

Judy walked out of her room that had been set up by Nick in his home for when she is over, however, it was no exaggeration that Judy spent more time there than at her own apartment. Annie ran up and held her hand.

"Daddy doesn't Aunt Jude look so pretty?

" Oh she sure does, her dates not gonna know what hit him."

Judy smiled. " Let's not get carried away. It's just dinner."

" Sure that's how it starts, then before you know it you're Mr. and Mrs. Carrots."

" Oh Ha-Ha. You guys all set?"

" Oh yea, we got everything."

" Ok, be sweety." Judy kissed Annie on the head. " Remember, no scary movies and no junk food past 8."

" Oh come on give me a little credit." Nick said.

" Actually that was to both of you." Judy joked.

" You know Jude you should seriously consider stand up comedy."

" Bye Aunt Jude! " Annie said. " I hope he's Mr. Carrots!"

Judy chuckled " We'll see hon. Bye.." Judy said as she made her way out the door.

" C'mon Daddy I'm hungry!" Annie said pulling his hand.

" Nice to meet ya hungry, I'm Dad."

Both Judy and Annie gave a simultaneous eye-roll.

**-Later-**

Judy sat in the restaurant across from her date as he rambled on about his job working as a lab technician. Her hand was placed under her chin as she tried her best to seem interested. Her date was a brown bunny, with glasses and his front teeth were slightly exposed.

" So, do you have any kids?" Her date asked.

Judy was a little caught off guard by the question. " Well yes, well I mean it's complicated." She pulled out her phone to show the screensaver of her and Annie.

The gentlemen rabbit sat paused for a moment.

" Her name's Annie. Well officially it's Annabelle, but we call her Annie for short. Yea, she is only like the best kid in the world."

The male rabbit looked at her a bit oddly. " Soooo you don't have kids then?" He asked.

Judy seemed a little bothered by the statement. " Like I said, it's complicated. She's my partner's daughter. "

" Oh! I get it now. Well good on you, I could never do it."

"…..do what?" Judy asked.

" You know…trying to take care of a fox, even if she is your partner's kid. I mean isn't that kind of scary?"

Judy was now a little offended at this point. " Actually, not scary at all as a matter of fact she's a huge part of my life." She said in a stern tone.

" Well no need to get defensive, I just know it's hard helping your partner to raise any kids, but a fox…."

Judy took a deep breath and looked to the side, it was safe to say she was not going to stick around to order dessert.

**-Later-**

Judy was on the train heading home. She was looking through pictures on her phone. Of all the pics she had with Annie there was one which was always kind of her favorite. It was her, Nick and Annie a Star Wars premiere. Nick was dressed as a rebel pilot, Judy was C3PO and Annie was dressed as Baby Yoda. This was a picture she could always look at no matter how rough a day was and smile.

It had been a long hard road back to normalcy for Nick, losing Krysta devastated him to where he was considering resigning from the force. But thanks to Judy always being there to help him through it and to take care of Annie, he managed to regain his former self. To further assist, Bogo had called in some favors so Nick and Judy could transfer to a station closer to Bunny Burrow, so they could be near Judy's family for help.

Judy returned to Nick's as she kicked off her high heels and picked them up. Nick was watching TV on the couch.

" Never date a lab tech." Judy said.

" Ouch, that bad?"

" Guy had no personality, don't know why I ever agreed to go out with him." Judy said in a sigh. " I'm gonna check on Annie."

Jude opened the door to see Annie in bed with her cover slightly down. Judy smiled as she came in and pulled the blanket back up to Annie's shoulders. She then placed her hand on Annie's head, Annie who was still asleep started smiling.

Judy walked back out and was making her way to the couch.

" Sorry the date was a bust." Nick said.

" Yea story of my life." Judy said as she tapped her shoes against Nick's leg. " Scoot over."

Nick scooted over allowing Judy to sit down. She noticed the candy on the table. " So I guess there was no fruit she could have had huh?"

" What are you talking about?" Nick picked up a box. " Says right there, JujyFRUITS."

Judy simply looked ahead as she patted Nick's leg. " You're adorable."

Nick preened himelf.

" Was she bouncing off the walls?"

" Only for like an hour. Don't worry I tranq'ed her and she went right to sleep." Nick chuckled.

" Oh great so long as you didn't use a lethal dose."

000000000000000000000000000000000000000

More to come.


	4. Chapter 4

All characters are property of Disney

000000000000000000000000000000000000000

**6 Years after the accident….**

Judy and Nick were on patrol driving down a rural road.

" Gimme a break…." Nick said.

" Well, I'm sorry I didn't know they were 2 different songs. They always sounded the same to me on the radio."

" Yea, that's because you don't listen to it long enough. The reason they probably sound the same to you is because the band sings both songs."

" I am so sorry, have I offended the 80's gods?" Judy asked.

" Yes, yes you have." Nick said in a snooty tone. "And their wrath upon you will be swift and vengeful."

" Ok, so what are the songs called again?"

" Hold on Loosely and Caught Up in You. Annnnd I expect a 2 page paper reviewing them the next day."

"…can it be double-spaced?"

" No it cannot. This paper counts for a big part of your grade.

" Oh no" Judy laughed.

Judy looked at the gas gage and saw it was nearing E. " We should probably get gas."

" Ok"

Their squad car pulled into a nearby gas station. Both Nick and Judy got out of the car.

" I'm gonna get some coffee, you want anything?" Nick asked.

" Um, just get me a medium cup, decaf with no cream or sugar." Judy said.

" Got it, world's saddest coffee coming up." Nick joked as he walked away.

" Wait Nick there's something I forgot to tell you!" Judy said concerned.

" What?" Nick asked concerned.

" You're not funny." Judy said with a smirk.

" Well my little girl thinks my jokes are hilarious."

" Oh you mean like " Hi Hungry I'm Dad"? You're way too young to start telling Dad Jokes." Judy said as Nick went inside.

Judy went to the pump and pulled out her card. She took a look at the prices of gas for her to select.

Judy sighed " Highway robbery."

That was when Judy's ear perked up by loud yelling in the store.

She couldn't make anything out until….

" Drop The Weapon!" Nick said from inside which was followed by a gunshot.

A look of dread came onto Judy's face.

" Nick!" Judy screamed as she hopped over the hood of the squad car and ran towards the store. That was when she saw someone rush out the doors. He appeared to be a honey badger wearing a tan jacket carrying a black back pack. He was darting away from the gas station.

Judy pulled her side arm. " Freeze!"

The badger looked back at her but did not slow down. He jumped over a fence. Judy rather than chase after him ran into the store and much to her horror she saw Nick laying on the floor clutching his chest wound. The store clerk was immediately calling 911. Judy rushed to Nick's side and placed her hands on the wound to keep pressure.

" This is Hopps!" Judy said into her radio. "I need a bus at the gas-n-gulp on Miller and Cornhaze! Officer down I repeat officer down!"

" Judy…"

" Hang in there Nick, we got a bus coming you're gonna be fine." Judy did her best to reassure.

"Judy….promise me you'll take care of Annie…" Nick said faintly.

" Don't talk like that. Just relax." Judy continued putting pressure on the wound.

" Judy!" Nick grabbed her shoulder. " Promise me…"

A tear escaped Judy's eye. " Of course Nick, of course I promise."

" Judy…thank you…."

" Don't talk Nick."

" No….thank you for coming into my life…." Nick was beginning to lose consciousness. " I never thanked you…but you saved me. You led me down the right path…."

" Nick stop!"

" I met Krysta…I had Annie…because of you….I never thanked you."

" Nick we'll talk all about it tonight."

" Tell Annie…I love her…"

Tears began to flow from Judy's eyes. " You can tell her yourself tonight…just hang in there…"

Nick's eyes slowly drifted closed as a smile crept on his face.

"Nick…NICK!"

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

More to come, please read and review…


	5. Chapter 5

Characters are property of Disney.

000000000000000000000000000

" Good morning, this is ZNN."

" The city mourns today as Sgt. Nicholas Wild will be laid to rest this afternoon. Sgt. Wild as many know was killed after walking in on a robbery in progress. The shooter's whereabouts are still unknown." The first News Castor said. 

" Authorities believe it is the same robber who has been responsible for a string of robberies with the same M.O. To take the money, shoot the clerk and to retrieve the security footage. However in the confrontation with Sgt. Wild he was not successful in shooting the clerk nor getting the video surveillance. If you have any knowledge on the whereabouts of this individual please contact the authorities, he is considered armed and dangerous."

" As Many know, Officer Wild was well known for his heroics alongside his partner Judy Hopps. The duo cracked down on several high profile crimes over the years. He will be buried alongside his wife Krysta Wild in TreePark cemetery. His wife tragically died 6 years ago in a car accident. He is survived by his daughter Annabelle Wild."

**Elsewhere….**

Judy looked in the mirror as she straightened her full uniform. A knock came at the door.

" Judy?" Bonnie said as she walked in with a black dress. " You doing alright?"

" I'm fine Mom…."

" Its perfectly ok if you're not fine."

" No Mom, I need to be focused for this. The very least I can do is make sure I handle this with honor. I owe him that much."

" Judy…" Bonnie came up and placed her hand on her shoulder.

Judy sat down clasping her hands together. " I always try to tell myself don't second guess my decisions…..but I can't help but think….we could have gassed up the car the night before, I could have gone in with him…I could have done so many things different."

" Honey stop…" Bonnie said. " There was absolutely no way you could have predicted this. This was something that just happened."

It was with those words Judy began crying. " Why did it have to be him…."

" Honey…" Bonnie lent herself for Judy to cry on.

**-Later- **

Judy is seen walking alongside the carriage carrying Nick's casket holding Annie's hand as Finnick, her parents and seemingly over a hundred officers followed on foot. Many of the ZPD 1st precinct also seemed to present which included Bogo and Clauhuaser. In the background a melody of bagpipes and drums were being played as they progressed down the street while citizens stood on the sidewalks to show respect.

**-Later-**

Bogo was on a podium near a picture of Nick in uniform.

" Sgt. Wild….Nick…was the first fox to join my precinct, he was the first fox cop…ever….at first I was beginning to feel like his whole day revolved around driving me insane."

The surrounding police laughed. Judy chuckled as she wiped away a tear.

" My relationship with him was rocky at best in the beginning. But as time passed and I began to know him, then I began to appreciate him and eventually I began to respect him. He soon proved himself one of the finest cops I ever knew. He could always lighten the mood in the room no matter how miserable you were feeling. Even given his background, his life growing up, he managed to have a smile."

Judy smiled looking up at Bogo as she made her way to the podium.

" Thank you chief.." Judy said holding back her emotions while shaking his hand.

" Of course Hopps, are you going to be ok?"

Judy nodded.

Judy took set of steps and placed them against the podium so to reach the microphone. " Nick was….he was more than just a partner. He was my best friend. I totally get what chief Bogo meant, I feel like when I first met Nick I was going to go crazy."

The crowd laughed.

" But that's just kind of who Nick was at first. He was without a doubt the finest person I knew."

Tears began to flow from Judy. Annie watched as she sat with Stu and Bonnie.

" I soon found out that behind all that bravado, that he had it very rough growing up. He was forced into a life where he felt he could only trust himself. But as we worked together more and more, we came to trust each other. He was a wonderful person…..he was a wonderful father…and a wonderful friend."

Many of the animals stood with their heads hung low remembering Nick.

Later, Judy was speaking with other officers at the service.

" Chief thank you, Nick would have loved that." Judy said as she held Annie with her.

" Of course Hopps. If there's anything I can do, please don't hesitate." It was then Bogo kneeled down to Annie. " Annie, your father was a wonderful man. I was lucky to work with him."

Annie smiled " Thank you chief."

As the service continued several officers gave their condolences to Annie as Judy stood by her. Most of them regaled her with stories of how their father was such a good friend and how he in fact saved some of their lives and how proud she should be of him.

Annie smiled weakly, she was so happy to hear these things about her father but still sad that her father was "sleeping" alongside her mother now which was how Judy tried to present it to her until she is old enough to handle the truth. Time passed and Annie had eventually fallen asleep from exhaustion of it all.

Judy picked her up and though only 6 years old and small for a fox her age, Judy was still a rabbit and it still required some upper body strength.

" So….what's going to happen with Annie?" Bogo asked concerned.

" I'm going to take care of her." Judy said.

Bogo nodded, he figured she would say that. " Hopps, nobody has ever adopted another species before. Know I'm behind you all the way. But also know you maybe be in for an uphill battle."

" I know…" Judy said.

" But we'll supply every resource we can for you. We will see to it that it happens."

" I appreciate it chief, thank you…..for being such a good friend to me and Nick."

" Of course Hopps."

Later Judy arrived home and placed Annie in bed pulled the covers over her.

" Good night beautiful girl…." Judy smiled as she closed the door halfway.

She removed her officer's jacket and hung it up on the coatrack and sat down placing her head in her hands. She took a deep breath.

She pulled out her phone and went to the surveillance footage from that day.

((((In the gas station))))

Nick walked through the doors in a relaxed manner until he froze, unprepared for what he saw, a honey badger pointing a gun at the clerk. The badger looked at Nick with his gun still on the owner, a look of disbelief on his face that of all things a cop would enter through the door.

Nick remained calm " Ok….let's all just calm down."

" Gimme the money…" The badger said to the clerk. " You don't move!" he said to Nick.

" Please I have kids." The clerk said.

" Shut up!"

It was then Nick pulled his gun while the robber was distracted. " Drop it!"

The badger pointed his gun at Nick.

" Drop the weapon!" Nick commanded.

That was when the badger fired first. Hitting Nick.

" Nick!" The badger heard from outside, he knew it was another cop and fearing for his life he ran.

Judy ended the footage as she buried her face in her hands crying.

**Days Later…..**

After a few days of grieving and getting Nick's affairs in order, Judy was back at work while Annie was at her parents.

" Morning guys." Judy said walking to her desk.

" Hey uhhhh Hopps, the captain needs to see you." One of the officer said.

" Oh, ok." Judy walked toward her captains office.

" Morning Capatin, you wanted to see me?"

It was then Judy noticed 3 foxes sitting in the office across from her captain who was a ram. 2 of the foxes looked older, but the third looked pretty young.

" Hopps come on in." Her captain said.

Judy walked in with a confused look on her face.

" Officer Hopps?" Said the younger fox as he got up to shake her hand. " Julius Swift."

" How can I help you Mr. Swift?"

" I'm representing Mr. and Mrs. Scarlet."

Judy looked at the foxes behind him. " Scarlet?...that was Krysta's last name before she married Nick."

" Yes, Mr. and Mrs. Scarlet are Krysta Scarlet's parents." Julius said.

Judy froze. " Th…that's not possible. Krysta's parents are dead."

" I understand she may have led you to believe that. But they are in fact alive as you can see."

Judy was completely confused. " Wait, this doesn't make sense."

" I understand this may be a lot to take in. But this is true." Mrs. Scarlet said.

" Ok…so what's going on here." Judy asked.

" We've come to talk to you about Krysta's daughter Annabelle." Julius said.

" Wh…what about her?"

" Mr. and Mrs. Scarlet are invoking their biological right for custody of Annabelle."

Judy's eyes widened " …what?"

" As her only living relatives, they wish to take care of her."

" I'm adopting Annie!" Judy said. " She's not going anywhere!"

" Officer Hopps…" Julius said.

" No listen I don't know who you people are or what you think you're doing, but Annie is staying with me! "

" Calm down Hopps." Her Captain said. " We'll get to the bottom of this."

"Officer Hopps, please we didn't, mean to come to you like this. But we are Annabelle's grandparents, and we want to help her." Mrs. Scarlet said.

" You just show up out of nowhere and tell me you're gonna take Annie away?"

" While we do have the best intentions coming to you here, the fact is that in the eyes of the law Mr. and Mrs. Scarlet have a right to custody of Annabelle, you don't. Also, let's be honest, the courts are not going to grant a rabbit parental rights to a fox. "

" If you think you're taking Annie away you better get ready for the fight of your life!"

Julius sighed. " I'm really sorry Officer Hopps, we didn't mean for our meeting to turn out like this but you've left us no choice." Julius picked up his briefcase. " We'll see you in court."

The 3 foxes took their leave. Mrs. Scarlet looked to Judy with sympathetic eyes, she opened her mouth as though she wanted to say something, but she simply left, her husband followed suit he looked back at Judy, sadness just as evident in him as his wife. He sighed and followed his wife out.

Judy watched them walk away completely dumbstruck. " C-Captain…they can't do that…..I mean….they can't do that."

" Hopps." The Captain said.

Judy looked back at him.

" You need to get a lawyer."

0000000000000000000000000000000

More to come, please read and review


	6. Chapter 6

Characters are property of Disney

00000000000000000000000000000000000000

" Arthur and Renee Scarlet." The Captain said as he brough the file up to Judy. " Busted 25 years ago for grand theft. Turns out Mom and Dad were running a scheme ripping off jewelry stores. Making….." Her captain handed Judy a picture of Krysta when she was a kid. " …their daughter an unwitting accomplice. They'd go in, fleece the place and put it in her backpack then jet."

Judy looked through the file. " I don't get it….Krysta never mentioned any of this…."

" Did she talk about her being in the foster system?" The Captain asked.

" Well, yes. She said she went into the system after her parents died."

" Sorry Hopps, but this proves it. She went into the system after her parents went away."

Judy looked at Krysta's picture. " How come she never told me this…."

" Probably ashamed. Probably didn't want to feed into the stereotype that foxes were criminals."

" It's not like she was an accomplice!" Judy protested.

" You're right, according to her father's confession, he made her think it was a game. She was a kid, she didn't know any better."

"How long were they gone?"

" Both got 10 years."

" And they think with their records they can adopt Annie?"

" Based on what Swift gave us, they bettered themselves in prison. Real pillars in their community. They own their own business on the east part of town. Since getting out, not so much as a parking ticket.

Judy sighed in disbelief. " They have been out for over 10 years, why is this the first time I'm meeting them?"

" Hopps, even with their records they may be able to have a legitimate claim. You need to get a lawyer."

**The next day….**

Judy sat across from the hippo lawyer as she explained everything that was happening.

" Look Officer Hopps…"

" Judy, please…"

" Judy…ok I'm going to be honest with you. You don't have a leg to stand on here. You're a rabbit, Annie's a fox. That alone is a huge issue. The Scarlets are her blood relatives, it won't go your way on this I'm afraid."

Judy looked across at him. " I have taken care of Annie alongside Nick since the day she was born. Nick told me with his dying words he wanted me to take care of her. I promised him I would take care of her. I know her better than anyone."

" I know this might be rough for you. But no matter how far we've evolved, the idea of one species raising another is unheard of. How are you going to raise a fox? I'm sorry, you don't have a case."

"…..I have a case…." Judy said emotionally.

" I'm sorry." The lawyer said.

Judy was hearing a lot of the phrase "I'm sorry" lately. She heard from the second lawyer she went to see, then the third, then the fourth all the way to the eleventh. As Judy left the last lawyer that turned her down, she leaned against the side of the building and placed her hands against her face.

**Days later….**

A grey bunny walked down the hallway in an office building.

" Is he in?" The bunny asked.

" He's not in a good mood." The secretary replied.

" Is he ever?" He said walking in.

" I heard that." Said his lemur boss.

" So the Scales case is done, the mother got custody and the father got visitation rights."

" And he agreed to that?"

" Well….he did when I told him I would be forced to bring up his "questionable" business expenses." The rabbit said.

" Chet, you are ruthless."

" That's why you hired me ."

**-Later in a restaurant-**

"So what do we got next?" He said while biting into a bean burrito.

"No one, we're not getting business like we used to." The sheep secretary said.

Chet sighed.

" You know…Chet. I've been meaning to ask…."

" I'm all ears."

" You graduated top of your class in law school. You're a great lawyer, why do you bother with family court? You'd make a great litigator in big cases."

" Family court is where my passion is. "

It was then that something caught Chet's attention. He looked up at the TV near the bar area. He saw the headline at the bottom of the screen.

**Rabbit adopting a fox?**

" Hey can you turn that up?" Chet asked the bartender who walked over to raise the volume.

" Officer Judy Hopps is in search of an attorney for custody of Annabelle Wild, a fox, she is entering a legal battle against Arthur and Renee Scarlet, the girl's biological grandparents, for custody."

He then saw Judy on a podium

" I have been from lawyer to lawyer to lawyer and I have not found one that will take my case. I know Annie is a fox and I'm a rabbit Please, I know there has to be at least one who will take my case." A newscaster said.

The secretary looked at Chet as he continued to watch the tv.

" Forget it!" She said. " That case is a dud, no court is going to allow a rabbit to adopt a fox."

"….you know….why not?" He asked.

" Uhh, because it's insane?"

" Come on Doris." Chet continued to looking at the tv. " The insane one's are usually worth the fight."

000000000000000000000000000000000

More to come , please read and review.


	7. Chapter 7

Characters are property of Disney

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Judy walked through the department with a coffee in hand. As she did she overheard a radio on a colleagues desk.

" Hey so did you hear about a bunny trying to adopt a fox?" One commentator said.

" Yea, I know it's crazy. I mean how would that even work?"

" She'll set up house rules. Rule Number 1 don't eat me."

" Hahahaha Oh my God!"

The commentators all laughed.

Judy ignored it and walked to her desk when she saw the tv.

" The idea of a bunny raising a fox is just unnatural…" Said a so called expert.

5 other commentators had screens next to his.

" I find that terminology somewhat offensive. If there's one thing we have learned it's that we can work together regardless of species."

" Working together is one thing, a bunny raising a fox is a completely other. She is in no way equipped to prepare a fox for the real world."

It was then Judy's captain noticed what she was seeing on the tv.

" Hopps…." The Captain said walking over to turn it off. " too much tv is bad for you…"

" Thanks Captain…."

Judy sat at her desk searching for lawyers on her computer while sipping coffee.

" Officer Hopps?" Chet asked walking into the station.

" mmm, yes? How can I help you?" Judy said while in mid sip of her coffee.

" I'm Chet Bushington, attorney at law." Chet went to shake Judy's hand.

Hearing those words made Judy's ears perk up and her eyes widen in hope.

**-Later-**

Chet and Judy were walking down the street. Stopping at a carrot cart to eat something.

" So how long have you known Annie?" Chet asked.

" I've been there for Annie since the day she was born. She's my family, I don't care what anyone says." Judy replied.

" That's good to hear. Where's Annie right now?"

" She stays on the farm with my folks, it's about 10 miles from here. She's got lots of cousins to play with."

" That's great, I think I should come by so we can go over the aspects of your case. That is….if I'm your lawyer…."

Judy stood before Chet for a moment looking directly into his eyes.

" You're hired." Judy said as she and Chet shook hands.

**-The next day-**

Chet walked with Judy and her parents across the farm. He noticed Annie running and playing with other bunny children.

" Annie seems really at home here." Chet said.

" Well why shouldn't she? She's here most of the time." Bonnie said.

" How do the other relatives feel around her?"

" They all love her, she's family. Nothing else to it." Stu said.

" Really lovely farm you have here Mr. and Mrs. Hopps."

" Please, it's Stu and Bonnie. You're making sure Annie stays with her family, I think it's safe to be on a first name basis." Bonnie said.

" Of course."

" You grew up on a farm Chet?" Judy asked.

" Yea, I actually grew up about 40 miles from here. I worked on it all the time with my Mom…..both of them…" Chet said.

Judy seemed a bit surprised by the statement. " I see…"

**-Later-**

"Alright Judy, we got a lot to cover. Julius Swift is a damned good lawyer, he's going to come at you from every possible angle."

Judy sat at the table with her parents.

" He's going to peer into your entire life. He's going to look at every arrest you ever made, every complaint filed against you…."

" I don't have any. Check my record." Judy said.

" Ok, he's also going to peer into your finances. So I need to know, are you behind on any payments? Massive credit card debt? Bad spending habit? Clothing sprees?"

" Are you kidding ? Does she look like she buys fancy clothes?" Stu said.

" I know, she buys half her clothes at second hand stores." Bonnie replied.

" w…wha?" Judy looked at her mother.

" I mean look what she's wearing now." Stu said as he and Bonnie walked on each side of Judy and had her stand up.

" Sad to say this is one of her nicer outfits." Bonnie said.

" Our friends ask us if she's homeless."

" All the time"

Judy looked down at her outfit which consisted of a flannel shirt and jeans with a white tank-top underneath confused then kept looking at her parents as they continued to insult her wardrobe.

" She has got THE WORST taste in clothes." Bonnie said.

" THE WORST." Stu endorsed.

" Nothing to worry about with that. Judy is really frugal." Stu said.

Judy simply stood there dumbstruck at the barrage of insults against her outfit. " Thanks guys….."

" O…k.." Chet said. " So anyway, another major thing. Typically in family court they don't have a jury, however this is a very bizarre case and it most likely will and I'm not gonna lie, there's a good chance it will turn into a circus."

" A circus?" Judy asked.

" Judy, you have to realize as amazing as it may sound, a species has never adopted a different species before. This is going to get a lot of media coverage."

" Ok…"

" Oh another thing, in court you CANNOT be in uniform. Absolutely CANNOT."

" Why?"

" Judy the jury needs to see you as a person who is relatable. If you do this in uniform people are going to see a career driven bunny who wont make time for Annie."

" Hey, Nick and I moved to a new precinct to be closer to home. I'd never put my career before Annie."

" I'm glad to hear that because listen Judy….this….this is gonna be a war. But it's a war I know we can win. Are you ready?"

Judy steeled herself and looked him straight in the eye " I'll do anything for Annie."

" Good, so maybe there are some second-hand stores around that have courtroom dresses." Chet smiled.

Judy rolled her eyes.

00000000000000000000000000000000000000

More to come…


	8. Chapter 8

All characters are property of Disney.

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Judy was walking in the store holding Annie's hand. Annie leaned up against her while giggling. The bunny and fox were drawing looks from other shoppers in the store.

" So what should we have for dinner?" Judy asked.

" Umm chocolate cake!" Annie laughed.

" Umm I think not." Judy laughed.

An older rabbit walked past Judy and Annie. She gave Judy a disgusted glare. Judy didn't miss this, she made sure to lock eyes with the old bunny, causing her to turn away. This was not uncommon to Judy, she loved her town but there was an element of distrust towards predators, foxes in particular. Many of the animals in the town knew Annie, and thought she was an absolute darling. But on occasion they would come across ignorance. This store in particular Judy and Annie had not been to before. It happened to be all the way across town. But a few things she needed were sold out at her usual store. So Judy decided to come to this one.

As Judy and Annie walked out with the groceries they were approached by a ram security guard.

" Can I help you?" Judy asked.

" Mam, can I ask you to come back into the store?"

" Is there a problem?" Judy asked surprised.

" Well we have reason to believe your little one might have taken something without paying."

Judy looked to Annie. " Annie you didn't take something did you?"

Annie shook her head. " No, that's stealing. That's against the law."

Judy looked back to the security guard. " Well she said she didn't take anything."

" Mam, please don't make a scene."

Judy had to stop herself for a moment. She certainly didn't want to draw attention.

" Ok then…" Judy said as she and Annie followed the security guard back in.

Later they were in the security room, Annie looked around smiling as she kicked her legs back and forth while sitting on the chair.

" We're just waiting for the video to be brought down."

Judy cocked an eyebrow. " Wait…you didn't even look at the tape yet?"

"Oh here it is." The guard said as the other guard brought in the tape.

As he played the tape it showed Annie walking but a few steps away from Judy to look at a toy endcap.

"Annie stay by me." Judy said as she compared radishes.

" Ok Aunt Jude." Annie picked up a red bounce ball the size of an apple in her hand.

" Ok Annie let's go." Judy said.

With that, Annie placed the ball back on the stand and followed after her.

-End of footage-

Judy looked over at the security guards as they had a stunned and embarrassed look on their face.

" Can we go now?" Judy asked annoyed with her head leaning on her hand.

" You're free to go." One of the security guards said.

" Apology accepted." Judy said sarcastically. " Oh and by the way, accusing someone of a crime without confirming evidence is in itself a crime out here.

" What are you? A cop?" The security guards chuckled.

At first Judy chuckled along with them before showing her badge " Yea…". This did a fine job of wiping the smirks off their faces.

" Come on Annie, we're only going to be a half hour late getting back." Judy said.

Annie hopped off the chair and came to take Judy's hand.

" Bye !" Annie waved.

" Why didn't you just say you were a cop?"

" You didn't ask."

" Well are you going to…" One of the security guards asked shakingly.

" Oh don't worry I am absolutely not wasting another second of my time on this. I will say this though, we are never shopping here again."

Judy and Annie walked out leaving the security guards dumbfounded.

As Judy and Annie walked through the parking lot Judy got a call.

" Hello?"

" Judy it's me." Chet said.

" Oh…hey…"

" You ok? You sound upset."

" It's nothing, just had to deal with some jerks."

" Oh, well I want you to know that based on the fact that Nick named you Annie's guardian, the courts are going to allow temporary custody based on the outcome of the trial. But it'll become sole custody if I have anything to say about it."

" Thanks Chet, I needed that good news today."

" So tomorrow, 1 pm, we go over what Swift is probably gonna hit you with."

" Got it."

Later Judy was driving down the road with Annie in the back.

" Hey…" She said. " You ok?"

" Mmhmm, I'm fine." Annie smiled.

" Listen, Annie about what happened back there. Sometimes animals are going to be just rotten to you."

" Why?" Annie asked.

Judy paused. " Because…. they're just like that. But you cant let it get you down. Remember about all the animals who love and care about you."

" Like you, Nana and Pops?" Annie asked.

" Exactly." Judy smiled.

Suddenly Judy and Annie noticed flashing lights down the road. As they passed it they noticed a pair of officers arresting a fox.

" I didn't even do anything!" The fox yelled as they cuffed him.

Judy noticed Annie not taking her eyes off the scene as they passed. Judy looked forward and continued down the road taking a deep sigh.

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

More to come…


	9. Chapter 9

All characters are owned by Disney and Pixar.

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Annie hopped out the side of the truck with her back pack in tow. Judy came around the side and couldn't get over how cute Annie looked with so much excitement. She was practically jumping up and down.

" So I guess you're pumped for your first day huh?" Judy asked.

" Uh-huh!"

Judy held Annie's hand walking to the school. As she looked toward the entranceway she thought back to her days at the school and seeing predators, Gideon Grey in particular walking around with an angry look on his face. She thought back on how she and many other students would avoid him.

" Ok Annie…" Judy knelt down and put her hands on her shoulders. " I want you to put your best foot forward, and remember what I said, don't listen to anyone who might be rotten."

" Ok Aunt Jude!"

Judy watched Annie run to the doors as the teacher was calling the children in. Annie turned and waved at Judy who waved back emotionally. She got back in the truck and headed off to see Chet to go over the talking points but she decided to make a stop first.

**-Later-**

Judy walked through the doors of a bakeshop. From the back walked out her friend Gideon Grey.

" Oh well hey there Judy!" Gideon said with a smile.

" Hey Gideon…" Judy said.

" What can I get ya?"

" Um I think I'll just get a dozen blueberry muffins. I have to go meet with my lawyer and I'll bet he'd love you blueberry muffins as much as I do."

" Sure thing! So how's Annie?" Gideon asked as he gloved up.

" Just dropped her off at first day of school today." Judy said sighing .

" Wow, that's gotta be tough."

" She's usually good at making friends. I'm not too worried about her."

" Well if she's anything like you she'll probably be the highest marks in the class."

" God willing." Judy said as she paid for the muffins and made her way out. " Thanks Gideon."

" See ya later Jude."

As she had her hand on the door she stopped.

" Hmm? You ok?" Gideon asked.

" I lied…" Judy said which confused Gideon. " I am worried about her….I'm actually just a little terrified for her…."

"…..well why's that?"

" Um… well namely because she's a fox and I'm worried I'm worried that she'll be an outcast and it just made me think to all the times…well you know…Gideon, I know we had a rough past and I know you had anger issues and I realized maybe it was how they…we all reacted to you being a fox."

Gideon stood silently.

" Gideon…I don't think I ever told you but….I don't think I was very fair to you….and for that I'm truly sorry."

Gideon sighed. " Judy….look…we were kids. We didn't know any better. We both made mistakes but that's water under the bridge now."

" You know…" Judy walked up to a table and sat down. " a few weeks ago we were at a store and the security accused Annie of stealing. She didn't obviously and their security footage showed she didn't. But…."

" But what?" Gideon sat across the table from her.

" Gideon…this world, it's going to stack the deck against Annie and I want to help but I don't know how."

" Hey, you became the first bunny to become a cop and became one of the best cops around. You know a thing or 2 about having the decks stacked against you."

" Thanks, but Annie is going to have different problems than I had, how am I going to help her?"

" Judy…" Gideon began. " You know what my parents taught me ? They told me Son, you're a fox. This world ain't never gonna trust you or care about you. You gotta look out for yourself."

Judy nodded.

" No Judy you don't get it….that's ALL they taught me."

Judy stared at Gideon

" Maybe that's kinda why I was angry a lot. I don't know. If they had your attitude maybe things would have been different. Here's what I know. You couldn't love Annie anymore if she was your own daughter. I don't care what some fancy court in Zootopia says about biology. What that little girl needs more than anything else in the world is you."

Judy let Gideon's words sink in. She then got up and hugged him. " Thanks Gideon I really needed this."

" Just don't teach her to be too much like you. Don't let her be the girl that wins every spelling bee literally every single year."

Judy laughed.

" I'm serious, give someone else a chance." Gideon joked.

**-Later-**

"Mmm oh my God." Chet said as he bit into the blueberry muffin joyously.

" Straight from Gideon's bakery." Judy said.

" I don't care how far I have to drive, I'm going to this bakery. It's been so long since I've had something that reminds me of home. It's usually fast food or coffee these days."

" Yea, I know how that can be."

" So blueberry heaven aside here let's get back to the talking points. Ya ready?"

" Definitely."

" Ok….Officer Hopps…"

" It's Miss…" Judy said.

" Don't interject on him with that. It's not a fight you need to make. If you do that the jury is gonna think you're forcing it. Don't worry if he says Miss or Officer."

" Right."

" Ok.. now Miss Hopps what makes you think you'll be able take proper care of Annie?"

" I've taken care of Annie since the day she was born. So far she's happy and healthy." Judy said.

" Miss Hopps how do you feel it's appropriate for a bunny to raise a fox? Surely you know the stigma that surrounds foxes. Wouldn't it be appropriate for the Scarlets to take her in? After all they have experienced what Annie will no doubt go through as she matures and are in a better position to guide her through it."

Judy took a deep breath. She thought back to what Gideon said. " I know…Annie may face a lot of opposition in this world as she gets older….It breaks my heart every time I think about how some one won't see the kind, smart loving person that she is. I used to worry that I wouldn't know how to help her through those obstacles….but I do know what it is like when animals have stereotypes pegged on you. Nobody thought a little rabbit from Bunny Burrough could ever become a cop, much less a good one… "

Judy took a sip of coffee.

" I can't promise I'll be able to anticipate every obstacle she faces. I know being a bunny I won't understand some challenges she'll have as a fox. All I can promise is that I'll be there for all of it. I'll be there for when she needs help with her homework, or needs advice for a first date…..but I'll be there for the really important obstacles too…like not getting into the school you even if you have better grades, being denied a job or passed over for a promotion….I'll be there for her."

Chet sat across from Judy and made an ok sign. " Awesome…."

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

More to come….


End file.
